If you or someone you know struggles with gambling addiction, scroll to the bottom of this article for resources to help.
Paige Huskey parks her car and walks toward the church.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
That might be what she thinks now, but it’s not what she thought the first time she visited. It was raining, and there were no parking spots. The only light came from the church basement, where the welcome sign said "NO SMOKING."
Huskey was looking for a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. Not because she thought it would work, but because she wanted to tell her children she tried everything. Because she was thinking about suicide.
“I didn't see any other way out,” Huskey said. “And it's just very hard to explain to somebody who hasn't been through it what kind of hell that is.”
WATCH: Gambling addiction is on the rise. One woman hopes her story will inspire others
For people living with addiction, suicide rates are highest among those with a gambling disorder, according to the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. Research suggests that one in five people with gambling addiction will try to kill themselves.
“It was very evident that we had an issue,” said Cara Brown, director of addiction services for Butler County’s Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Board. “We had no one able to treat problem gambling addiction."
In Ohio, casinos have been open for more than a decade. Yet in many counties, mental health professionals did not have specific gambling addiction training — even though an estimated 250,000 Ohioans suffer from it.
Until recently, Butler County was one of those places. Brown said there are now five agencies with clinicians trained to treat gambling disorder.
“It’s never enough,” Brown said. "But we’re trying."
Huskey lives in nearby Dayton, and she says she was lucky to find Gamblers Anonymous. Because she felt alone.
At one time, she didn’t even believe you could become addicted to gambling. Her problems started with card games at a military base. Then, Texas Hold ‘em. Then, Blackjack. Then slots.
Huskey soon became a casino VIP, which she now realizes just meant she lost a lot of money there.
“My real world was completely crumbling, and I was having trouble paying my bills,” Huskey said. “I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. It was horrible.”
At a meeting in the church she is showing me, Huskey learned about a program where you can block yourself from casinos. It's part of what helped her turn her life around. She takes a coin out of her purse, which she got for seven years of recovery.
Huskey says she still goes to at least four meetings a month. And even though those meetings are anonymous, she doesn't want to be anymore. She's writing a book about her experience.
Even still, she originally wanted to use a fake name. But then Huskey spoke at a problem gambling conference in Columbus. She told me hundreds of people attended, but there were only a few people with experience like hers.
“How can we improve how we help people, if we don't even have enough people here who have been through it?” Huskey said. “If I can't talk about it, then who is going to talk about it?”
Gambling resources:
No matter where you live, if you or a loved one are struggling with gambling addiction, you can can call 1-800-MY-RESET
You can find more resources by clicking on this link for Ohio and this link for Kentucky. Some of the resources include financial counseling, a way to block yourself from gambling establishments and software that can block gambling apps and websites on your phone.
